Under new principles adopted by Yahoo, Google and Microsoft, these companies will promise to protect the personal information of their users wherever they do business in countries that impede free speech and expression.

(Reuters) - Google
Inc, Microsoft Corp and Yahoo Inc are expected to announce on Tuesday
that they have agreed to a common set of principals on how to do
business in nations that restrict free speech and expression, the Wall
Street Journal reported.

The move by the Internet media and technology giants comes in the
wake of criticism that they have helped enable censorship in those
countries, the paper said.

Under the new principles, which were crafted over two years, the
companies will promise to protect the personal information of their
users wherever they do business and to "narrowly interpret and
implement government demands that compromise privacy," the Journal said.

They will also commit to scrutinizing a country's track record of
jeopardizing personal information and freedom of expression before
launching new businesses in a country and to discuss the risks widely
with their executives and board members, the paper said.

The document was crafted by a group of participants including human
rights groups like Human Rights First and Committee to Protect
Journalists, the Journal said.

Nonprofit groups like the Center for Democracy and Technology and
Business for Social Responsibility also participated. The companies
have agreed to have their compliance with the new principles monitored
by independent experts, the paper said.

The plan has yet to receive the support of Internet companies in
China and other countries whose policies it implicitly attacks, the
Journal said.